Following his close and controversial majority decision win over rival Nate Diaz in a classic bout at last night’s (Sat., August 20, 2016) UFC 202 from Las Vegas, the MMA world is in full discussion about just what – or whom – Conor McGregor’s next move will involve. Diaz stated that he wouldn’t fight until he
Following his close and controversial majority decision win over rival Nate Diaz in a classic bout at last night’s (Sat., August 20, 2016) UFC 202 from Las Vegas, the MMA world is in full discussion about just what – or whom – Conor McGregor’s next move will involve.
“We’re definitely not doing this a third time right now. I don’t think there’s anybody that doesn’t want to see this fight again, but Conor’s either going to go defend his title or give his title up and then we’ll figure out where to go from there.”
Much of the talk centered on “The Notorious” today involves him cutting back down to featherweight (his last two bouts against Diaz were at welterweight) to defend his 145-pound title against interim champ Jose Aldo, whom he knocked out to originally win the belt.
McGregor himself hinted that’s where his career could take him next, but with a noticeable foot injury reportedly stemming from Diaz checking one of his many low kicks last night, the future, at least immediately, is somewhat uncertain for the UFC’s golden draw.
There’s hardly a doubt that a third match between he and Diaz would do some of the biggest business in UFC history, and it could be tough to think that a second bout with Aldo would do the same. It will always be there, however, and Diaz can probably be taken on his word that he won’t be fighting anyone else in the meantime.
It seems like a curious proposal from White, too, as he’s repeatedly stated McGregor would be forced to move back down to featherweight in an age where the biggest potential money-making fight is often booked instead of the one that makes the most sense according to rank. “Notorious” also called out for a third bout with Diaz, this time at the veteran’s usual home of 155 pounds, in his post-fight interview in the Octagon. What should the UFC do with its biggest star next?
In an riveting display of heart, toughness, and skill, Conor McGregor beat Nate Diaz by decision in a classic bout (full highlights right here) that could end up as 2016’s “Fight of the Year” at last night’s (Sat., August 20, 2016) UFC 202 from Las Vegas. The win was a closely-contested war that many still feel
In an riveting display of heart, toughness, and skill, Conor McGregor beat Nate Diaz by decision in a classic bout (full highlights right here) that could end up as 2016’s “Fight of the Year” at last night’s (Sat., August 20, 2016) UFC 202 from Las Vegas.
The win was a closely-contested war that many still feel Diaz should have taken home, but with the controversial scorecards now in the record books, the discussion will quickly move on to just whom McGregor will face next. Although he teased a move back down to his original weight class of featherweight to finally defend his title, Diaz was none too keen on that prospect in his post-fight media scrum (transcribed by MMA Fighting), where he showed up vaping cannabis oil, proclaiming he wouldn’t be fighting until he met McGregor once again:
“I’m not doing sh*t until we go for round three,” Diaz said at the event’s post-fight press conference. “You won’t be seeing me until then. If they want to set it up as soon as possible, let’s do it. But I don’t think it’s a very good business move for him to be taking any other fights, and he’s a businessman, so we’ll see what happens.”
McGregor called for the same thing after his close win last night, adding that he wants the rubber match to be contested at a weight of 155 pounds. A normal lightweight himself, Diaz revealed he wanted the second fight to be contested at 155:
“I’ve been a lightweight the whole time,” Diaz said. “I think I walked into the cage tonight probably at 177, 176, 175. F*ck, maybe lighter. So hell yeah, that’s what I wanted this fight at, so I could have a six-pack. You know you want to be in a picture with a six-pack.”
It will now remain to be seen if the UFC actually decides to go for the third match-up that would no doubt be the most anticipated trilogy fight in UFC history and one of its biggest bouts overall. But at the moment, something else – like the oft-discussed return to 145 – could be in the cards for McGregor. Regardless of what happens, Diaz detailed his belief that he was changing the game by standing up for the compensation he believes fighters should be paid.
Diaz gave “The Notorious” a slight amount of credit for adjusting and lasting until the championship rounds with him the second time, but he also noted his training was allegedly inspired by his own triathlon-centered routine. Heaping praise on his accomplishments, Diaz again said his own renegade persona was why a fighter like McGregor is getting paid with a record purse:
“Change is happening right now,” Diaz said. “If you want to be successful in this business and you want to do good in this business, you’re going to have to follow the leader. And if you’re going to say that somebody else is the leader, you got it wrong. Look at Conor. What did Conor do for this fight? He did exactly what I told his ass to do. He hopped on a bike — a little amateur style, he didn’t have no clips, he didn’t have no helmet, that’s not how you ride but he tried — and he hired all top-10 people to come in from wherever.
“He hired these people and that was a good job, but who taught you how to do that? Your sensei here, man. It’s like, follow the leader as far as the martial artists, follow the leader as far as the businessmen. Like, sh*t, if you think that I’m tripping and just talking out of my ass, then you’re obviously not that bright because I’ve supposed to have been fired already 20 times from this organization, and look where I’m at now. Still doing my thing on the main card.”
Watch the full UFC 202 media scrum with Diaz right here:
Seeking revenge for the brutal second-round submission he suffered at March’s UFC 196, UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor finally squared off with rival Nate Diaz in the main event of tonight’s (Sat., August 20, 2016) UFC 202 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The fight lived up to all the hype and circumstance,
Seeking revenge for the brutal second-round submission he suffered at March’s UFC 196, UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor finally squared off with rival Nate Diaz in the main event of tonight’s (Sat., August 20, 2016) UFC 202 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The fight lived up to all the hype and circumstance, delivering a classic slugfest that McGregor took home by close majority decision. McGregor used a varied arsenal of leg kicks and straight left hands to batter the zombie-like Diaz, who somehow stayed upright to return fire and have the featherweight champ in big trouble in the middle rounds.
McGregor dug deep and won the fourth round, and even though he most likely lost the fifth, he ultimately took home the huge win. Many believe that Diaz did enough and should have gotten the nod, opening the door for a huge trilogy match in the future.
Watch the full fight video highlights of McGregor’s big win right here:
With only a few short hours left until tonight’s (Sat., August 20, 2016) UFC 202 from Las Vegas, Nevada, the MMA world waits with baited breath to see what will happen in the second fight of featherweight champion Conor McGregor’s long, strange rivalry with Nate Diaz. By now we all know what happened in the
With only a few short hours left until tonight’s (Sat., August 20, 2016) UFC 202 from Las Vegas, Nevada, the MMA world waits with baited breath to see what will happen in the second fight of featherweight champion Conor McGregor’s long, strange rivalry with Nate Diaz.
By now we all know what happened in the first fight at UFC 196, where Diaz filled in for then-lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos on just 11 days’ notice to batter and submit “The Notorious” in the second round after losing the first round to several heavy blows.
But what followed after McGregor showed a surprising amount of humility, honesty, and class at the UFC 196 post-fight presser arguably has the ultra-popular champion fighting for a large chunk of his lofty fighting status. His short ‘retirement’ that ultimately lead to his removal from the originally scheduled rematch with Diaz at UFC 200, coupled with the strange, dangerous bottle-and-can-throwing incident at Wednesday’s pre-fight press conference suggest that Diaz might just be inside McGregor’s head. We’ll find out tonight, but at the end of the day, he just has to win in order to silence his critics.
Yes, he’ll always have the featherweight title he’s never defended, something that UFC President Dana White has gone on record saying he will do in his next bout regardless of what happens with Diaz tonight.
However, two straight losses to a fighter who’s being billed as a welterweight but is, in reality, a lightweight who while no doubt a top contender, has lost to many of the top 155-pound fighters in MMA, would obviously be devastating to the ridiculously lofty bar McGregor has set for himself with his nonstop trash talk. There will be excuses made, but the fact will remain that there just hasn’t ever been a UFC champion who is coming off two losses to the same opponent.
It would also lend McGregor’s frequent stinging tongue lashes much less weight, as it’s hard to get fans to take a fighter seriously who says they’re going to destroy everyone in their path while on a losing streak. Again, the featherweight fray that McGregor has by all accounts dominated since his UFC debut in April 2013 will always be there, but it’s still a matter of whether or not he can actually make that weight safely again. “The Notorious” has put on serious muscle mass for his move up to lightweight and then welterweight, and even his longtime coach John Kavanagh has stated he doesn’t want to see his prized fighter make the draining cut down to 145 again.
Case in point, check out how drained McGregor looks compared to the much more bloated form he was in at UFC 196:
That picture is quite a shocking contrast, and in an era where the health impacts of extreme weight cuts are being taken more and more seriously by the day, it might not be a good look for the sport’s biggest star to put himself through another drastic and taxing cut. The weight issue coupled with the daunting specter of a two-fight losing streak to Diaz not surprisingly makes tonight’s main event a bout with absolutely stratospheric stakes for the Irish superstar, and therefore, it’s a bout he must win.
The fight is also one that carries astronomical stakes for the UFC. With talent agency WME-IMG and their investors recently having bought the UFC for upwards of $4 billion in the midst of the most unpredictable run of title changes in UFC history, the promotion is in serious need of stars. McGregor, along with Ronda Rousey, is obviously their biggest one, so another loss would be devastating for his legitimacy and the new owners’ profit margins. Some rumors have surfaced that WME has already soured on their massive purchase, and while that speculation is just rumor, it wouldn’t be hard to suggest that they may have a serious case of buyers’ remorse were McGregor to lose again and leave them with a long list of champions who absolutely struggle to sell a pay-per-view on their own.
There’s most likely a path to victory for McGregor this evening, but with him predicting a second-round knockout of the iron-chinned Diaz, the high-volume five-round affair that will probably be required might not be what McGregor plans on implementing.
We’ll have to wait and see what transpires in one of the most intriguing MMA fights of the year (and perhaps ever), yet regardless of what goes down from the T-Mobile Arena tonight, the stakes are unquestionably high for McGregor, and in an unprecedented manner never before matched in the relatively young sport of MMA.
The exact same thing could – and should – be said for the UFC and its new owners.
When Wednesday’s UFC 202 pre-fight presser devolved into an all-out chaotic fracas involving water bottles and cans of energy drinks being thrown, there were expectedly sanctions to be had as the result. As a clear antagonist of the situation, Nick Diaz was obviously in the thick of things for his brother Nate Diaz’ pivotal rematch
When Wednesday’s UFC 202 pre-fight presser devolved into an all-out chaotic fracas involving water bottles and cans of energy drinks being thrown, there were expectedly sanctions to be had as the result.
As a clear antagonist of the situation, Nick Diaz was obviously in the thick of things for his brother Nate Diaz’ pivotal rematch with Conor McGregor in the main event of Saturday’s (August 20, 2016) UFC 202 fro the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Diaz was unable to corner Nate due to the fact that even though his 18-month suspension for testing positive for marijuana had expired, he still owed $75,000 to the NSAC and was therefore technically still suspended.
Things only got worse when UFC President Dana white revealed that the chaos had already lead to a lawsuit being filed when a child was struck with a flying object in the melee. While that could certainly cost both Diaz and McGregor some serious coin in the future, the more immediate impact of Team Diaz’ actions became apparent at today’s (Fri., August 19, 2016) official weigh-ins for UFC 202.
Already unable to corner his brother, Sheriffs deputies denied Nick Diaz entry to the weigh-ins today. He posted a short SnapChat video of him getting sent away as fans cheered emphatically for him (via MMA Fighting):
The Stockton slugger looked none too happy with his removal from the final event to hype up what could turn out to be the most riveting fight of the packed UFC calendar year. With his return looming and some potentially huge fights on the horizon for the ultra-popular former champion who hasn’t won a fight since 2011, Diaz will have to pay his fine in order to accrue the multiple millions that definitely await his return.
But with the NSAC on his heels for his fine money and now for his actions they deemed unprofessional this week, he’ll also have to keep his nose clean in the eyes of the commission if he ever wants to be able to participate in those huge bouts.
And that’s not something that the Diaz brothers are known all that much for.
Following an all-out melee between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz’ whole team at Wednesday’s UFC 202 pre-fight presser, security was tight at today’s (Fri., August 19, 2016) official weigh-ins, and justifiably so. After Diaz’ team was banned from all events, the Stockton superstar came out with only Gilbert Melendez to the weigh-ins, and not surprisingly, it
Following an all-out melee between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz’ whole team at Wednesday’s UFC 202 pre-fight presser, security was tight at today’s (Fri., August 19, 2016) official weigh-ins, and justifiably so.
After Diaz’ team was banned from all events, the Stockton superstar came out with only Gilbert Melendez to the weigh-ins, and not surprisingly, it took several men to separate the heated rivals.
Also not surprisingly, the two had some more classic words for one another after weighing in, starting with McGregor threat to kill Diaz, his whole team, and their supposed “bitch t–s”:
“He shoulda killed me when he had he had the chance, because now I’m gonna kill you and your whole f—–‘ team. You and their b—- tits.”
Diaz was quick to respond, noting that he’s coming to kill or be killed just as he was at UFC 196 earlier this year, when he submitted McGregor with a second round rear-naked choke. He closed with an emphatic statement of support for his home country heading into his rematch with Irishman McGregor:
“I train always hard to kill. He’s already dead from the last time. This a new guy. So it’s kill or be killed again. USA motherf—–!”
So the stage is officially set, and all that’s left is for Diaz and McGregor to throw don for a second time in one of the biggest UFC cards of the year.
